Claire stepped out of the pool without a single drop of water clinging to her clothes or person. She let out a breathy sound that was half laugh half sigh as Orpheus whooped and lifted her off her feet, spinning her around in a dizzy circle.

"I'm a better teacher than I thought. You're going to do well on the midterm." He beamed as he set her back on her feet at the pool's edge. Bright afternoon sunlight shone through the glass domed ceiling, making his gold hair shimmer. The one perk of staying on Shuru during the two week semester break was that they could practice at the pool without sacrificing sleep.

The other perk was not having to face Amma and the Kishori aunts and uncles and admit how low her ranking was, or how low it would most likely drop after midterms.

Claire's joy immediately melted into nervous fear. Midterms. Had she really been at Avia for almost five months already? "That's next week."

Orpheus nodded, his cheerful expression darkening as well. "Indeed. And I'm sorry to say you're going to have to practice on your own this next week."

Claire gaped. "You're leaving me?"

"Seph-er, my younger sister, Persephone-she's sent a series of strongly worded letters begging me to stay with her and father for the remaining half of break, and I worry what my fate might be if I refuse." He scratched his neck, lost in his own thoughts. "Maybe she'd sprout flowers from my lungs... or bury me alive..."

"Earth Elemei, like my brother?" Claire guessed.

Orpheus nodded somberly. "Perhaps one day she can be as skilled as him, too. I only met Keenan once but-"

"I meant my younger brother," Claire cut him off, her face going red. Talking about Keenan always led to those pitying looks she despised. "Nathan. He's ten, hopefully he'll be a student here next year."

Orpheus lit up. "Oh, that's great! Seph will attend next year too. She's eleven. Didn't audition this year because she's at a private art academy for the time being."

"Fancy." His certainty on his sister's acceptance didn't go unnoticed. But then again, they were the children of the Headmistress. They may as well be guaranteed admission even if they were mortals. "When are you leaving?"

"Tonight," he answered, and Claire tried not to look disappointed.

"I'll keep practicing on my own," she said with the most casual smile she could manage. Professor Bakshi certainly wouldn't let her use the pool on her own, so the last week of practice before midterms would have to be spent manipulating little glasses of water in her dorm room- If Sylva and her irritating friend could keep their giggles under control for five minutes.

That feat, Claire realized early the next day, was clearly impossible. They ran off home to the hellhole that was Helion every weekend during the regular school year, but now that it was a semester break and they were supposed to go home, of course Sylva and Hadyn chose to stick around and be more obnoxious than usual.

Claire had woken up early with hopes of studying, but they were quickly dashed when Hadyn practically kicked down the door to wake Sylva up.

Claire frowned and tried to concentrate on the little bubble she was struggling to bounce from cup to cup at her desk, while whispers and squawks of laughter assaulted her ears all the way from the balcony. She wrinkled her nose. Of course Hadyn was smoking out there, too. How could Sylva stand it?

Maybe Claire should have taken Kayah up on her offer to go home with Alison? If Orpheus had only told her he was planning to ditch her half way through the break she certainly would have. Two weeks playing third-wing with Kayah and Ali would have been better than this.

Sylva rushed cheerfully into the room and the balcony door slammed, effectively breaking Claire's focus. The little ball of water wobbled and popped, splashing Claire in the face and dampening all her notes. She exhaled hard and pushed away from the desk.

"Oopsie, was that my fault?" Sylva chirped, eyes wide as she peered around her wardrobe door.

"It's fine." Claire snapped, harsher than she intended.

"Don't worry princess, you'll catch up to me one day." Hadyn crooned as she sprawled across Sylva's bed. Claire could smell the smoke that clung to her hair and sweater even from across the room.

Claire ran her tongue over her lip. The split from Hadyn's punch had since healed, but the action was a good reminder of what would happen if Claire started something. She pretended not to have heard Hadyn's cocky remark and perched on her own bed, angled away from the other girls.

"Here, wear this," Sylva said.

There was a rustle of fabric and some more giggles from both girls. Claire rolled her eyes and picked up one of the novels she'd borrowed from the Academy's library. If Sylva and Hadyn were going out, Claire could use the peace to catch up on some long overdue reading.

Sylva flung herself onto Claire's bed, jolting her out of the book less than a page in. "Claaaaire," she whined.

"Whaaat," Claire responded in the same exasperated tone.

Sylva pouted up at her. "Come out with us."

"Ha!" Claire laughed.

At the same time Hadyn groaned, "Syl, no."

Sylva pouted harder. "But it's my birthday!"

Claire and Hadyn made similar sounds of distress as they came to terms with the fact that of course Sylva was going to get her way on this matter. About half an hour later, Claire was dressed in one of her nicer sundresses, and Sylva had cheerfully braided her hair back with a little bow at the end.

"Where are we going anyway?" Claire asked as she examined her braid in the mirror. She sincerely hoped all this effort hadn't been wasted for a trip to Helion.

"Komore." Sylva smiled, swinging her purse as she twirled around the room. "Ice cream, shopping, a concert in the park! Hadyn promised me a new plushie."

"As if you don't already have enough," Hadyn sighed.

Sylva bounced her shoulders. "No such thing. Plus I'm turning thirteen, that's definitely a big enough deal to deserve a new plushie. I'm thinking another bird, but we'll see what calls to me."

"Sylva, you're twelve?" Claire frowned in surprise. The purple-eyed girl was short, but so were most other young girls compared to Claire, and even some of the guys. It was no indication that she was a full year younger-- almost two, Claire would be fourteen before the school year ended.

"No, she's thirteen, weren't you listening?" Hadyn chided.

Claire let out an exasperated noise, and Hadyn responded with puffed cheeks and crossed eyes. One day, Claire would have a special name for that uniquely Hadyn expression, but this first time she saw it she could only think to call it annoying.

The trio of girls boarded one of the Academy's small airships and informed the pilot of their desired destination. Sylva sang and excitedly pointed out different kinds of birds during the flight, but Claire's attention was focused elsewhere.

Specifically, Hadyn's clothing. The redhead was wearing a baby blue short sleeved sweater and jeans, the same shade of blue as Claire's sundress. She hadn't noticed it when she first put the dress on, or else she would have chosen something else. Gods forbid someone see them and think they were matching on purpose.

"Alright princess, you've been glaring a hole into me for the past ten minutes, what horrible treason have I committed against you this time?" Hadyn sighed.

"You're wearing blue," Claire muttered. "You're a fire Elemei."

Hadyn laughed. "Oh is that all? You know we don't have to color code to our affinity off campus, right? Blue's my favorite color."

"But what if someone thinks we're matching?" Claire complained. "What if someone from school sees us?"

"And thinks we're actually friends?" Hadyn finished. "Yeah, that would be awful. Who would wanna be friends with you?"

With a tiny huff, Sylva moved from her seat by the window and wiggled herself right in between the bickering girls. She smiled at each of them, then resumed her singing.

Claire stuck her tongue out at Hadyn in a most dignified manner, then rested her chin in her hand and spent the rest of the flight staring out the window.

Despite Claire and Hadyn's almost instinctual desire to go for each other's throats, the first few hours of the trip to Komore weren't bad at all. Sylva kept herself in the middle and held hands with each of them, tugging them cheerfully from one shop to another.

They ate samosas and ice cream from street carts, and made up stories about the people who hurried past them on the crowded sidewalks. Claire caught herself smiling more times than she liked, but she was still on edge. Alison lived in Komore after all, it would be social suicide if she and Kayah were to happen upon Claire with black-banded Hadyn and her perky friend.

Claire absentmindedly ran her fingers along the edge of the white band she wore even with her street clothes.

Sylva yawned, clutching her new stuffed lamb to her chest as she finished her second ice cream cone. "What time is it? The concert should be soon right? We should get to the park!"

The park was almost the size of the entire Shuru skyland, and was located on the far edge of Komore, where the bet sunset views could be spotted. It was the only part of Komore untouched by city construction. It was rolling grassy hills and stone paths through tiny forests and flower gardens. There were cute man made ponds with multicolored stones and waterlilies. At the park's center was an open air shrine where weddings and bleedings were hosted in the warmer seasons, and anyone could go to pray year round.

Not far from the shrine was the amphitheater. Anyone with enough money could rent it out to host concerts, plays, or lead worship services.

That night was supposedly a concert of talented air Elemei who manipulated wind through an intricate arrangement of pipes to create hauntingly beautiful music-- so said Sylva-- but as the trio approached the amphitheater and heard shouting and chanting, they realized that may not be the case.

Sylva frowned and looked at the sign just outside the amphitheater. "Oh no, I got mixed up. The concert is tomorrow. Tonight's a private party..."

"That's a party?" Claire asked, raising an eyebrow as she surveyed the massive crowd that was gathered, and the weird masked people on the stage shouting into megaphones.

Claire realized quickly what was up. She took a quick step back, saying "we should head back to campus..."

Just as Sylva and Hadyn started down the amphitheater steps towards the crowd. Sylva looked back at Claire and waved her towards them. "C'mon we'll only stay for like five minutes tops! I just wanna see if they explain the silly masks."

This is a horrible idea, Claire's thoughts shouted over and over as she nervously descended the stairs behind the other two girls, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

She'd seen Awakening members stand on streets and shout heretical nonsense at those who passed, but she'd never seen them host something this big. And she'd never seen them wear masks.

Masks were scary. Masks meant you were doing something you didn't want tied back to you.

The trio melted into the crowd, and a stiff-muscled Claire reached aimlessly for a familiar hand to hold. The one she caught was exceedingly warm. Hadyn shot her a playful wink and Claire quickly realized her mistake. She yanked her hand free.

Eyes of all colors looked Claire's way, ranging from hostile to curious, and whispers followed.

"What's wrong?" Claire hissed to Sylva. "Why are they looking at me like that?"

Sylva's expression morphed from confusion to fear. "Claire, your band! Take off the band, they probably think you're a spy for Avia!"

Hadyn rolled her eyes. "What sort of spy would be stupid enough to wander in emblazoned with the mark of the enemy? They probably just think she smells."

Claire hastily slipped her white band off and stuffed it into her pocket.

"I want to thank you all for coming today," A masked man shouted over the crowd, his booming voice silencing most of the chatter. He had brown skin-darker than Claire's but lighter than Alison's-and long, dreadlocked black hair tied back in a neat ponytail. He was too far away for Claire to identify his eye color. "Whether you're already one of us or hearing our truths for the first time, we thank you for being here."

"Look at Quin up there acting like such a big shot. Please." Hadyn scoffed quietly, a smirk on her lips.

Sylva snickered. "I betcha he designed the masks."

"You're not even secretive about being Awakening members, are you?" Claire gaped.

Sylva shook her head quickly. "Oh no no, we're not members. Our parents were, so we kinda grew up around it, but we're not."

Claire shook her head. Sylva was obviously lying. She'd probably known the rally was happening and brought Claire along on purpose. The Awakening was manipulative like that.

"Since I don't know how many of you are new, I'd like to talk a bit about who we are and clear up some misconceptions about us," the man Hadyn had called Quin continued.

Claire turned her suspicious gaze to Hadyn. "So if you're not part of the Awakening how could you tell who that was so quickly?"

Hadyn snorted. "It's just a mask, princess. It doesn't conceal his voice."

"Or his hair," Sylva added.

Claire wasn't particularly satisfied with that answer, but she didn't want to start a fight and draw attention to herself in the current company. Some members of the crowd were wearing those masks too- shiny black lacquered things that covered everything above the wearers mouth, with Parlakh and Movalissa covering one eye and what looked to be a bloody tear falling from the other. Dramatic, though it didn't look particularly comfortable to wear.

Quin continued talking, but Claire tried not to focus on the words. Who knows what sort of brainwashing techniques they could be implementing? She examined the others on the stage. A tall man stood silently at Quin's side with his hands folded, and a group of three girls hovered near the stages right corner. Everyone was too far away for Claire to tell what color eyes they had behind their masks, and they all wore generic black clothing.

"-but the number one misconception we hear is, 'don't you guys think the gods are a myth?'" Quin said, glancing back at the other's on the stage. They all laughed, so did some people in the crowd. "The answer to that is no. Far from it, actually. We believe in their existence more than anoyone because our founder, my father, saw them with his own eyes."

Claire's breath caught.

"The Gods are very real. What we don't believe is the lies their Council tell about them. The lies the Gods themselves want you to believe." Quin's casual tone was laced with dark humor. Clearly this was a speech he'd rehearsed numerous times. He stood with arms crossed, the only hint to his expression Claire could pick up on was a smug tilt of his lips. "You, me, all of us... We only exi-"

Everything happened in less time than it took Claire to blink.

An explosion went off somewhere near the stage and the force of it rocked the whole ampitheater. Even near the back, people were knocked off their feet. The blast would have hit Quinlan directly if the tall man at his side hadn't thrown up a massive wall of rock at the last second. The people who'd been standing in the front row weren't so lucky.

"D-don't panic!" Quinlan shouted into the megaphone, but it was far too late for that.

It was a mad dash for the exit. Screaming, scrambling, trampling. And from closer to the front- sobbing, bleeding. In the chaos, the trio was seperated. Or at least, Claire was seperated from them.

"Sylva! Hadyn!" She turned in circles, looking for that bright red becon of hair. She was bowled over by a large man begging for the Gods' mercy. Stars danced across her vision as her head cracked against one of the stone steps.

At first she thought she'd imagined the high keening wail that tore through her foggy thoughts, but-no, it was sirens. Someone had alerted the police. Or maybe they'd head the explosion. How had they arrived so quickly?

"Miss Sable..." A hand shook her shoulder. "Claire, can you hear me..?"

Claire forced her heavy eyelids open.

"Let's get you out of here quickly... we wouldn't want the police getting the wrong idea, you've already had more than enough arrests for your age..."

"Professor Donserli?" Claire frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" The Professor said as he helped Claire to her feet. "I was at a bleeding ceremony in the shrine when I heard the blast and came to investigate." Claire's eyes dropped to the red cloth tied around his wrist. Donserli frowned. "Did you come here on your own?"

"N-no I came here with my roommate and-" She shook her head and instantly regretted it as sharp pain tore through her skull. "It was supposed to be a concert..."

With Donserli's winds giving them a boost, they made it out of the wrecked ampitheater and away from the park before the police arrived. After ensuring she didn't have a concussion, he escorted Claire back to the airship docks, where they found Sylva frantically pacing in circles around Hadyn, who only looked angry.

"You're okay!" Sylva blubbered, pouncing on Claire and burying her tearstained face in Claire's shirt. "We were so scared! I hope you're not mad at us for ditching you, we totally thought you left us. So when we got out and couldn't find you in the park we were like 'oh maybe she went to the docks,' but then you weren't here either!" She glanced up with her big baby animal eyes. "Hadyn was about to march right back there but then we heard the sirens so I stopped her-"

"Donserli. Surprised to see you here," Hadyn interrupted. She stared at Donserli with tight lips and crossed arms.

The Professor nodded tersely. "Miss Trousta. I'm sorry to say I'm not quite surprised to see you."

Claire glanced between them, surprised by the coldness, but her thoughts were too foggy for her to dwell on it. "Can we go back to campus?" she asked weakly. "I think I'm good on excitement for... the rest of the semester."

"Of course, of course!" Professor Donserli exclaimed, back to his usual cheerful self. "I have some further business to attend to here on Komore, but you girls get back to campus and get some rest. Miss Herron, I hope you've been practicing your gusts, the midterm will not be easy."

Sylva swallowed. "I have been, Professor."

He nodded. "Good. I'll see you next week then."

The girls rode the airship back to campus in miserable silence. Sylva with her stuffed lamb in her lap, Claire with her eyes closed, resting her head against the window. Quin's last, cryptic words played over and over in her thoughts.

You, me, all of us... We only...

_________

A biiit later than I wanted because some pirates distracted me Wednesday night and then Captain Marvel came out on Thursday so work has been insane all weekend (I work at a movie theater), but here's chapter eight! I hope you enjoyed it! I had a joke about Hadyn, Claire, and Sylva saved, but then I realized only people familiar with homestuck would understand it so I won't post it XP

Next Up: Headmistress Calliope Trevesse talks to Claire about farming. Hadyn has an umbrella.